Etymologically
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mostro

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Pronunciation

Forms

mostro m (plural mostri)[1] Old Italian also wrote monstro and monstru.[2][1]

Etymology

It is borrowed from Latin mōnstrum (“portent, prodigy”), a learned word, through the older form “monstro”.[3][4][5][6][1] The Latin noun first named a prodigy revealing the will of the gods, and so “a thing against nature”.[4][7][5] It is probably an instrument noun from moneō (“to warn”), from Proto-Italic *monestrom, though DELI notes that the formation, seen also in lūstrum, is exceptional.[3][4][1] Devoto derives it from the root “*mon-”, the strong grade of “*men-” “think”.[8] From the idea of a thing to be pointed out comes the Latin verb mōnstrō, the source of mostrare.[4]

The word is pan-Romance: French monstre, Spanish monstruo and Portuguese monstro.[5][4][9][1] The adjective mostruoso continues Latin mōnstruōsus, while mostruosità was formed in Italian.[3][4]

Earliest recorded meaning

The first record is in Restoro d'Arezzo, 1282, for a mythological or legendary creature, one whose body is abnormal or joins parts of different beings.[3][2][6]

Semantic evolution

Already in the 13th century the word could be used in praise, for a prodigy or marvel (Ciampolo Ugurgieri), as in Petrarch's “o de le donne altero e raro mostro”, O proud and rare wonder among women.[3][6] A creature born malformed is a mostro in the 14th century (the vernacular Saint Augustine, Dante); Benedetto Varchi defined such monsters, before 1565, as beings with too many, too few or ill-proportioned limbs.[3] The sense “very ugly or very cruel person” is recorded about 1446 in Giovanni Gherardi.[3]

In modern use the word also names the perpetrator of atrocious crimes, especially sexual ones, as in il mostro di Firenze, and, positively, a person of extraordinary talent: un mostro sacro is a figure of unquestioned standing in a field.[6][10][11]

Timeline

  • 1282 – Restoro d'Arezzo uses mostro and mostruoso.[3][2]
  • 13th century – Ciampolo Ugurgieri uses it for a prodigy.[3]
  • 14th century – It names a malformed creature, in the vernacular Saint Augustine and in Dante.[3]
  • About 1446 – Giovanni Gherardi uses it for a very ugly or cruel person.[3]
  • Before 1565 – Benedetto Varchi defines monsters, mostruosità is first recorded.[3]
  • 1890 – Mostriciattolo “little monster” is recorded.[4]

Meanings

Noun

  1. A legendary or mythological creature combining different natures, human or animal: Il Minotauro era un mostro metà uomo e metà toro.[6][10][11][1]
  2. (figurative) A person of repulsive appearance, (jocular) someone who looks a fright: Con quei capelli sembri un mostro![6][10]
  3. (biology, medicine) A fetus, animal or plant with severe congenital malformations.[6][10]
  4. (figurative) A cruel, wicked person; the perpetrator of atrocious crimes, especially sexual ones.[6][10][11]
  5. (figurative) A person of extraordinary ability in some field; a prodigy: Negli scacchi è un vero mostro.[6][10][11]

Word family

  • mostruoso
  • mostruosità
  • mostriciattolo

Usage notes

Mostro sacro is a person whose standing in their field is undisputed.[10][6] GRADIT also lists a literary mostro, the shortened past participle of mostrare “shown”.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
  2. ^ a b c Tesoro della Lingua Italiana delle Origini (1997–), Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, CNR, Firenze; tlio.ovi.cnr.it
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Cortelazzo, Manlio; Zolli, Paolo (1999), Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, 2nd ed. by Manlio Cortelazzo and Michele A. Cortelazzo, Bologna: Zanichelli
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Nocentini, Alberto; Parenti, Alessandro (2010), l'Etimologico: vocabolario della lingua italiana, Firenze: Le Monnier
  5. ^ a b c Battisti, Carlo; Alessio, Giovanni (1950–1957), Dizionario etimologico italiano, 5 vols., Firenze: Barbèra (reprint 1975), p. 2519
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k De Mauro, Tullio (ed.) (2003), Grande dizionario italiano dell'uso, CD-ROM version 2.0, Torino: UTET
  7. ^ Prati, Angelico (1951), Vocabolario etimologico italiano, Milano: Garzanti
  8. ^ Devoto, Giacomo (1968), Avviamento alla etimologia italiana: dizionario etimologico, 2nd ed., Firenze: Le Monnier
  9. ^ Meyer-Lübke, Wilhelm (1935), Romanisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 3rd ed., Heidelberg: Winter
  10. ^ a b c d e f g Devoto, Giacomo; Oli, Gian Carlo; Serianni, Luca; Trifone, Maurizio (2026), Nuovo Devoto–Oli: il vocabolario dell'italiano contemporaneo, digital ed., Milano: Le Monnier
  11. ^ a b c d Sabatini, Francesco; Coletti, Vittorio; Manfredini, Manuela (2026), Dizionario italiano Sabatini Coletti, digital ed., Milano: Sansoni / Rizzoli Larousse